Try, Try Again
by smallearthcat
Summary: Nyota decides to indulge in a bit of matchmaking, only it doesn't exactly go as planned. Kirk/McCoy slash.


The second Jim Kirk got her attention at that little bar in Iowa, Nyota Uhura knew he was going to be one of those constant annoyances in her life. She has no idea how she knew that then, because as far as everyone involved was concerned, he was just another idiot townie hitting on a cadet who was on her way out of small-town Midwest life. Still, his cocky grin and lackadaisical attitude were things she was sure she'd find herself all too familiar with.

And unfortunately - well, actually it turned out to be rather more fortunate than not - she was completely right about having to see him often in the near future. The very next day, he'd boarded the same shuttle to the Academy, so she'd sighed and resigned herself to the likelihood of seeing him more than she'd like.

He'd turned up in a number of her classes, annoying her even further both by proving (unobtrusively, at least) that he really wasn't as stupid as she'd assumed at their first meeting and by charming his way into everyone's good graces. He seemed not only to know everyone there, but also to be friendly with them. And yet, he still took the time, at least every other day, to come over and randomly flirt at her.

The weird thing, she began to discover, was that he didn't really seem to mean anything by it. Oh, she was sure he had the first time, but after that? Not so much. She couldn't have put her finger on it, exactly, but it'd lacked intent. She'd relaxed marginally around him at that point, but not enough to really like spending time in his company.

The best thing that's come from knowing him, by far, is that he's the one who introduced her to Leonard McCoy. She's still not quite sure how Kirk conned Leonard into becoming friends with him, because as far as she can tell they're polar opposites. Well, maybe not quite polar opposites, but they're very different personality-wise, and she's never been able to determine, to her satisfaction, what might have drawn them together in the first place. Regardless of that, it's clear they enjoy each other's company.

And she's found that she enjoys Leonard's company tremendously, as well, and has since they first met. There's something quite refreshing about his blunt manner, and his sarcastic wit never fails to make her laugh. Yes, they've become close friends since then, which is why she's currently contemplating something a bit...crazy.

It's almost too ridiculous to contemplate, but she kind of thinks Kirk and Leonard might have a...thing for each other. Kirk seems to flirt with everyone, but whenever Leonard is around, he seems to be the sole focus of it. Not just that, but it has a different vibe than there seems to be with...almost everyone else, actually.

And, of course, Leonard does more than just put up with Kirk; he genuinely seems to like spending time with the man. Yes, he protests and puts up an annoyed front, but Nyota knows him well enough to see that it's just bluster. Of course, none of that is enough to be sure by itself, but the way Leonard talks about Kirk when it's just the two of them...well, she's always had a sixth sense when it comes to these things.

Kirk she doesn't care as much about, but she has a vested interest in trying to make Leonard happy. He's so grumpy all the time as it is, and she really wants him to hang on to those things that he does like.

She'd very much like to just talk to either one of them about it, but that's almost guaranteed to end in disaster. Kirk will undoubtedly break out some sort of innuendo and not take her seriously, and Leonard has always gone kind of squinty-eyed when anyone has suggested that he maybe start dating again. So what she's left with is a sneak attack.

It's easy enough to invite Leonard to dinner at their usual restaurant of choice; he'll think nothing of that. Kirk, however, is a bit trickier. _She_ can't invite him anywhere, because he'll undoubtedly get the wrong idea, and then she'll never be able to get rid of him. So that leaves someone else.

The perfect opportunity comes when she sees Gaila flirting with Kirk one day between classes. Her roommate surely wouldn't mind being used in a bit of subterfuge to get Leonard and Kirk on the track to romance.

So Nyota waits until later in the day, when they're let out of their final class, to approach Kirk. "Uhura, looking lovely today as, always. New dress?"

Nyota rolls her eyes. "Flattery will get you nowhere with me. Gaila, however, would like you to meet her at The Creekside Restaurant tonight at 7; the reservation is in my name. Don't be late, and wear something nice."

Kirk opens his mouth, but she really doesn't want to hear whatever he's going to say, so she turns on her heel and walks away. Kirk doesn't follow her.

Though she doesn't really need to show up at the restaurant that night, Nyota finds that she wants to know what happens badly enough to take the time to show up early and hide herself away at the corner of the bar where she won't be seen.

Leonard shows up right on time, as always, though Kirk still isn't there. Ten minutes pass, fifteen, thirty, and still no Kirk. Nyota feels by turns annoyed and guilty, because Kirk was _supposed_ to show up, and poor Leonard is sitting there all alone, still waiting for her after half an hour.

Ten minutes later, she decides to give it up; Kirk obviously isn't going to show, and she doesn't want to leave Leonard hanging. She sneaks around and makes it to the front so Leonard won't know she's been there the whole time. She makes up an excuse for her lateness and hopes that paying for their meal even though it's not her turn will make up for it.

Nyota has no idea why Kirk didn't show up that night, but she has no real way of finding out without giving herself away. She wonders if he maybe figured out what she was up to, but he treats neither her nor Gaila any differently than usual, so she's probably in the clear. The problem now is what to do since Plan A failed. She's not about to give up just because her most easily put together idea didn't work.

It's not until two weeks later that Plan B comes to her, quite by accident. She'd been looking for an extra tricorder in one of the storage closets at the behest of one of her professors, and the door had closed behind her as usual, except when she'd tried to open it again to leave, it wouldn't budge.

She'd tried the manual override, rewiring the console to emergency open, prying the doors open with her fingers, but nothing had worked. Even the stupid comms seemed to be out of commission, and as she sat waiting for her professor to come and find her, she wondered how a closet so impossibly difficult to get out of even existed.

It wasn't more than twenty minutes before she'd been found, and the door opened readily enough from the outside. Dr. Sheppard had apologized profusely for forgetting to tell her to prop the door open, and she'd given it no further thought.

At least, not until she's idly speculating a couple days later while watching a heated argument between Leonard and Kirk that what they really need is to be stuck with each other for long enough that they'd be forced to work out the sexual tension.

It's easy enough to convince Leonard that she needs something out of that closet and has no time to pick it up, so of course, he offers to get it for her. Kirk, on the other hand, obviously can't be expected to show up somewhere if she tells him to, so she decides on an anonymous note asking him to be there when Leonard is supposed to be.

Nyota, of course, doesn't actually have any pressing matter to attend to at the time, so she conceals herself in a nearby room in order to watch the closet. Kirk actually shows up first, which clears the biggest hurdle to her plan. He peeks in the door, but as it's obviously empty, he waits in the hallway.

After a very short time, he starts looking at his watch impatiently, and Nyota fears he might just leave before Leonard gets there. Luckily, Leonard comes around the corner a moment later, and Kirk positively lights up; Nyota knew this was a good idea.

They talk for a minute, though Nyota can't hear what they're saying, but they finally head into the closet. She sees that they've propped it open, so she quickly sneaks over and pulls the small metal block from between the doors, allowing them to close.

Muffled sounds of annoyance immediately start up, and Nyota decides to stick around long enough to make sure they actually get beyond the 'trying to escape' phase; she doesn't want her plan thwarted by them being too frustrated with the situation.

Their voices die down after a moment, and surely it's too much to hope that it worked so quickly. She hears a thunking noise and wonders briefly exactly what they're doing, but then the doors start to slide open. She rushes back to the room in which she'd been hiding and only just manages to make it out of sight before they emerge and walk off in separate directions.

Nyota kicks a chair in frustration; not only has another plan been ruined, but she has no clue how they managed to get out of there so quickly. Someday, she'll have to find an excuse to ask Leonard about it.

With Plan B foiled so quickly and easily, Nyota has no idea where to go next. All she can think is that maybe she should just suggest something outright, try to make Leonard see the same things she does when they're together, and maybe they'll work it out from there.

She waits a few days, trying to come up with something else, but nothing comes to mind. The next day, when she and Leonard are studying together since they both have major exams coming up, seems to be the perfect chance to bring it up.

"You and Kirk seem to be pretty close."

As far as broaching the subject goes, it's a pretty poor start, being extremely obvious to anyone who knows either of them even marginally well.

"We are."

"Yes, and I was wondering...that is, I was thinking-", Nyota pauses, takes a breath before continuing, "you make each other so _happy_."

Still not great, but Leonard is definitely giving her his complete attention where he wasn't before.

"We'd never have gotten to be friends otherwise." Leonard sounds wary, which she supposes he has a right to, given where she's trying to take this conversation. He's never seemed very keen on having a relationship in all the time she's known him.

"I know that. Oh hell, I'm just saying that I think you might be even happier if the two of you were seeing each other." Blurting it out like that isn't exactly what Nyota had in mind, but she's frustrated about stumbling over what to say, and bluntness always gets the job done.

Leonard looks weirdly relieved at her outburst. "We already are."

Nyota opens her mouth to try to explain better because he's obviously still not getting it, but before anything comes out, she understands. "Wait, you're _together_? How long has that been going on? And why didn't you tell me?"

"Yes, a little over a year, and because I know you're not exactly fond of Jim. I didn't want it to put a strain on our friendship."

"Oh, Leonard," Nyota can't help throwing her arms around him even though she knows he's not big on physical affection, "I don't have to like him to want you to be happy. Besides, he's not actually _that_ bad, just sometimes a bit overly annoying." Leonard pulls back and looks at her in surprise. "Don't you ever tell him I said that, though."

Leonard chuckles. "Of course not; there would be no living with him if I did. He doesn't need _every_ female on the face of the planet to be pulled in by his charm."

"True." Nyota can't help a small smile.

"Why were you asking about me and Jim, anyway?"

Nyota briefly considers telling him what she's been up to but dismisses the notion. He'd probably just end up being embarrassed by the whole thing, and she'd rather avoid that; it's not like she's not embarrassed by the situation, either.

"Just noticed that you've seemed more content lately, and it wasn't difficult to pin it down to Kirk's presence." Leonard actually flushes a little bit, and Nyota laughs. "And if I didn't know already, the fact that you actually blushed about it would tell me."

Leonard tries to scowl, but he doesn't manage for very long. "Well, now that that's out there, we should probably get back to studying."

Nyota allows the diversionary tactic because she really doesn't want to hear about their relationship in any great detail. "Of course. Just don't feel like you need to hide things from me because I might not like them, okay?"

Leonard nods and turns back to his text, and after a moment, Nyota turns back to her notes. So much for her matchmaking plans. At least Leonard and Kirk are doing well together, though. Now all she needs to do is threaten Kirk about the consequences of hurting Leonard. Yeah, that'll be fun.


End file.
